


Wards and Warriors

by lo_battery



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Emphasis On Slow Burn, F/M, I do use mods so thats where some of the thoughts come from, More characters in the future i just didnt want to spoil anything, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, but lbr theyre human so they think about it, from being hired for protection to being protective, if ppl tell you otherwise theyre lying, lots of world building of my own that wont hurt canon at all dw, might get steamy in the future??? depends on my serotonin levels, romance very much not based in physical intimacy, some not so sfw thoughts at times, were aiming for a healthy balanced diet of plot and eventual romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:00:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lo_battery/pseuds/lo_battery
Summary: Not one for violence but a deep rooted curiosity for magic, Amalthea finds herself at a daunting decision. There are simply some things the College of Winterhold can't teach and you must take it into your own hands to learn. With some hired muscle and a foray into the wilds of Skyrim and their secrets, she bites off a little more than she can chew. While loyal, her Nord companion is less than pleased with this magical mayhem and adds both good and bad to the situations they find themselves in. Maybe there's something more? No, her guess is it's a trick of the mage light.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Wards and Warriors

**Disclaimer  
** **(please read this will likely be the only one)**

I haven’t written a fanfiction in upwards of 7 years and along with being very dyslexic I hope you will be gentle with my abilities (or lack thereof). There will undoubtedly be spelling and grammar mistakes but I’m doing my best with what I can and the blessing that sometimes can be spellcheck. Beyond those technical hiccups I very much enjoy playing Skyrim heavily modded so you may see some diversions from canon when it comes to environments, spells, etc. but will likely be very minor. The main point of interest here is that no character in this story that I have thought up as of right now will be the Dragonborn. This story is more a fun jaunt into the lives of the everyday folk doing their best to survive the unrelenting hardships of Skyrim. 

* * *

Not for the first time was the thought of a nice warm evening on the farm a tempting alternative to the icy chill that stung her fingers. It was a natural type of cold, born of the weather and not of any sort of magic she’d been studying. This type of relentless chill she still found herself getting used to when the nights became mornings and the stillness of the hall, usually filled with the fizzle of magic or the idle chatter of her fellow apprentices, seemed to make things that much colder. She wasn’t one for the cold, not being a Nord but a Breton, yet unfortunately she wasn’t about to learn magic on a farm in the Rift. After accidentally burning her usual gloves, thoughts of home where it was much warmer did tend to creep in and with them she resolved to brave the snow when the sun rose and leave the walls of the college to get a new pair. At least that would push those thoughts away. 

Yet for now they still lingered. Amalthea sighed and closed her book giving in to her body’s protests and standing from her chair to stretch for the first time in hours. It wasn’t like she hated home, it simply carried a certain baggage she wasn’t looking to unpack. If anything, she most missed the warm wood of the house that didn’t keep the cold like the stone of the College did. Home, despite it all, was far cozier than her apprentice quarters that could desperately use a few more pelts to improve the emptiness and add warmth.

She’d done her best to do just that over the year she’d been in the College. She wanted to learn more than anything and if it took suffering the endless cold and needing to move around some furniture in her room, then so be it. Any inconvenience was minor if it allowed her to learn. 

Her body ached after hours of pouring over books, unmoving in an old chair. The beds weren’t the comfiest but she’d slept on worse and she’d piled up enough furs to make even the most skilled hunter jealous. She hadn’t killed any of them of course. She was not a fighter or a hunter by any means, she’d used a fishing pole a handful of times on the river and had prepared meat for dinner with a knife on plenty of occasions. But, that’s where her physical prowess ended, before even slightly getting off the ground.

That made sense given her stature. She was on the small side, even for Bretons, and despite growing up on a farm she maintained her petite frame being the youngest of three. What she lacked in an imposing stature she made up for in her brain, twice over the amount combined by her older brothers. Had she not been so timid in her temperament she might have made a wonderful evil mastermind, at least in the eyes of children playing pretend in the fields. Instead she devoted her time to learning whatever she could like a ravenous wolf. Her curiosity often landed her in hot water and when her wits couldn’t save her, her brothers did. 

If only they’d been more accepting of her desire to pursue magic.. she shook her head as if trying to physically rend those thoughts from her mind before they brought with them memories. These were subjects she didn’t like touching on even privately but the cold that made her fingers creek after hours of study did that to her. She really needed those gloves. 

Sitting on the furs of her bed she drew another sigh and went about pulling her boots off. She blew a loose strand of umber hair out of her face, cursing the lack of magic to deal with the mess of curls. True the wind and the cold served naught but to make the best way to tangle it, but if she were to learn all this arcane hullabaloo there ought to be something. For now she accepted another day of defeat realizing just how heavy her eyes were at such a small hour in the morning. After a few hours of rest she was sure she'd have time to think about hair magic in the morning along with all the more important things. 

It seemed as soon as her head hit the furs and her eyes closed she was woken up when there was a commotion in the common area. It had startled her out of a dream that quickly slipped through her fingers while being the only proof she’d slept at all. Disoriented slightly from the dream world and that of reality she failed to pick up exactly what was being said beyond her closed door. Still, depending on what was happening, it wasn’t wise to go back to sleep. This wasn’t nearly the first time there had been incidences like this in the dorms but assuming it was something as small as an experiment gone wrong would be the one time something big really did happen and the college would end up in the waves below much like half the town. 

Stumbling groggily to the door she yawned meekly and rubbed one of her eyes before pushing it open. What grogginess lingered however, was quickly pushed away as a burst of light sent an unidentifiable but very on fire object her way. With a gasp and a quick duck she avoided the object as it fizzled with embers charring the stone wall behind her. In doing so drew the attention of the would be attackers. 

“Amalthea!” It was filled with annoyance but a sort of shock that told her it wasn’t directed toward herself, despite her natural instinct to shrink back and take a step toward the safety of her room. 

Brelyna has been the one to call out, surprised to see her friend in the dorms at such a late hour. Her argument with J’zargo half forgotten even while his fur still stood on end, clearly still bristling. The closer Amalthea looked she noticed the fur seemed a tad bit blue and a tad bit singed. 

“I didn’t know you were still here. It’s one in the afternoon.” Brelyna made her way around the curve of the magicka pool that constantly lit the common area to check that the flying ball of fire hadn’t singed her friend.

Amalthea stood shocked that she’s slept that long but realized she hadn’t even checked what time she’s been to sleep. She counted her luck that there weren’t to be any lectures today as she wasn’t one to miss. She could see J’zargo grumbling beyond the figure of Brelyna fussing and waved her off politely. 

“I'm fine Brelyna, it’s okay. What happened?”

J’zargo’s ears flattened and despite his efforts to smooth out his fur he bristled again “She asked me to participate in one of her experiments and turned me into a blue goat!” 

The accusatory tone made both girls wince while the conviction Brelyna had in her argument had quickly left after having been walked in on by Amalthea who she turned to as if to explain to a disappointed parent. “Well you weren’t awake, and I assumed you weren’t in your room, and I’d just had a great idea, and.. well he did agree.” The tone was reminiscent of a child being caught with her hand in the sweetroll stash she wasn't supposed to know about.

There wasn’t going to be an apology, Amalthea realized, and she sighed with a nodded. Usually she was on the butt end of Brelyna’s experiments that seemingly never went well. Thankfully she was well versed in the restoration field for the most part so any dire accidents were usually avoided. With that in mind she spoke up again glancing at the khajiit, “Well.. are you alright J’zargo? Usually the worst of it fades away in a couple of hours.”

The feline huffed in what nearly sounded like a hiss and grabbed his scrolls, turning on his heels. “J'zargo is fine!”  With that he started up the stairs of the Hall of Attainment to get away from the two women. To both their barely concealed smiles, his tail was a deep glaring blue. 

Amalthea bit her lip to conceal her smile but felt a shiver run up her. In getting out of bed she’d left her shoes in her room and the cold stone floor on the bottoms of her bare feet was not something she wanted to experience longer. She turned back toward her room as Brelyna started taking after her. 

“Sorry for waking you up. You stayed up far too late again I assume? You really shouldn’t do that. You know I love a good book but even my parents taught me the importance of a proper night sleep for the body and the mind.” 

Amalthea frowned briefly out of sight as she bent to picked up her boots before sitting on the chair and starting to pull them on. She’s heard the same from her own parents and assumed it was a universal parent law to scold their children for late nights. Even so she didn't want to dwell on the subject of family and simply nodded “I lost track of time. I did end up with decent notes though. I hope I can give them to Tolfdir when he’s back from his trip.” 

Brelyna frowned even with the good news, knowing what came with it. “You still want to go on off on your own research trip?” 

Amalthea knew Brelyna didn’t want her to go. They’d been fast friends when Amalthea had made it to the college. Similar in temperament, even with opposite upbringings, it was easy for them to get along. They tended to enjoy companionable silences as the hours dragged by in the Arcanaeum, pouring over books while half buried in scrolls and notes. She had to admit she'd miss that as well if she was approved to leave for her research. “I do Brelyna.. I might not be long. It’s just something I think will be the next step in learning for me.”

They’d had this conversation before and Brelyna sighed in defeat like she usually did, knowing Amalthea was right “I know.. I suppose I’ll need to get used to turning J’zargo blue for my experiments.” 

The small change of lighthearted tone brought them both a smile as Amalthea finished tying her boots and stood, grabbing a fur and wrapping it around her shoulders. “He’ll get used to it. Besides, blue seems to suit him.” She shoved the lot of her notes into a stack before stuffing them in the top drawer of her dresser along with the rest that already resided there, organization was one of her weaker areas when she was knee deep in research. “Would you want to walk into town with me? I burnt my last pair of gloves yesterday and my fingers are freezing.”

“Sure, I suppose we could also grab some ale or wine on our way back. It’s not every day we get a week to ourselves with no lessons.” 

Amalthea smiled at that even though she wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker. It did feel like special occasion that warranted it though, so it was easy to agree. Maybe the gloves and the ale would warm her how she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no clue on my update schedule but I'll do my best to keep up on them and create some sort of backlog while I'm motivated. Thanks for reading!


End file.
